Terrance Knighton explains what sticks out to him while on the recruiting trail

Nebraska defensive line coach Terrance Knighton is getting his first opportunity to be a Power Five coach this season with the Cornhuskers. Head coach Matt Rhule brought Knighton to the Big Ten after he coached with him the past two seasons with the Carolina Panthers.

Knighton was at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor camp Monday scouting potential recruits. HuskerOnline caught up with him at the camp and asked what he looks for when doing in-person recruiting like that.

“We get the numbers, we look at measurements,” Knighton said. “(Rhule and defensive coordinator Tony White) do a good job of evaling guys, seeing how guys are going to project and how their bodies are going to grow. I’m just trying to pick their brains as much as I can with the eval and seeing guys. Certain natural things that guys do as D lineman stick out to me, but just the overall vision of a guy and how they’ll progress three to four years down the road, I think our staff does a good job doing that.”

Knighton played for Temple the same time Rhule was an assistant coach for the Owls at the end of the 2000s decade. He then spent seven years in the NFL before retiring in 2017.

The former defensive lineman earned his first college coaching job at Wagner in 2019 as the defensive line coach.

Terrance Knighton has one DL commit in 2024 so far

Terrance Knighton has landed one defensive lineman commit in the 2024 recruiting class so far in Ashton Murphy, a three-star recruit out of Elkhorn (Neb.) Elkhorn South. He is the No. 957 overall recruit in the 2024 class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

“This is a nice regional recruiting win for Rhule and the Huskers,” HuskerOnline’s Sean Callahan wrote after Murphy’s commitment in April. “Both Colorado and Iowa State were the other players in his recruiting. He also camped at Iowa last summer, and you have to think the Hawkeyes were closing in on an offer as well.”

He is one of seven commits in the 2024 Nebraska recruiting class, which ranks 24th in the 2024 On3 Industry Team Recruiting Ranking. The class is currently headlined by Altair (Texas) Rice Consolidated four-star safety Roger Gradney, Miami Christopher Columbus HS three-star linebacker Willis McGahee IV and Bellevue (Neb.) Bellevue West three-star quarterback Daniel Kaelin.